A few miles south of Salt Lake City lies the sleepy former mining town of Park City, population 7,000. It has a couple of ski resorts. An ice rink. Not much else. But once a year, it becomes the centre of the cinematic universe, as hundreds of filmmakers, actors, journalists, studio executives and die-hard cinephiles descend on the town for the Sundance Film Festival, the largest indie film festival in the US.
Since Robert Redford’s company founded the festival in 1978, Sundance has been a stepping stone for a generation of filmmakers. Here’s what’s been setting tongues wagging so far at this year’s event.
Christine / Kate Plays Christine
Christine Chubbuck was a news reporter who, in 1978, became a shocking news story herself. During a live broadcast, she spoke into the camera: “in keeping with Channel 40’s policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts, and in living colour, you are going to see another first: an attempted suicide.” Then she shot herself, live on air.
Her suicide is the subject of two fascinating but very different films at this year’s festival. Christine, from director Antonio Campos, has generated rave reviews, with particular praise going to Rebecca Hall in the role of Chubbuck. Many reviewers noted that this is the sort of rich, profound role Hall has deserved for a long time.
Kate Plays Christine, directed by Robert Greene, purports itself as a documentary on the tragedy, but it’s far more complex than that. In a sort of high-concept Herzogian twist, it follows the research process of an actress about to play Christine Chubbuck for a film that does not actually exist. It’s a curious experiment, one that evidently didn’t work for all Sundancers, but does neatly offer insight into both Chubbuck’s sad demise, and the methods actors use in depicting real life figures.
The Birth Of A Nation
Not to be confused with the 1915 film of the same name from cinematic pioneer and noted racist D.W. Griffith, this could be the hit of the festival. Nate Parker writes, directs, produces and stars as Nat Turner, a leader of one of the largest slave rebellions of 19th century America.
Many reviewers drew parallels with 12 Years A Slave and Schindler’s List for its harrowing, ruthless portrayals of historical violence and genocide. It’s a tough watch, certainly, but already the 2017 Oscar buzz is brewing, and with it an enormous bidding war between distributors erupted over the weekend. The Birth Of A Nation sold to Fox Searchlight, which helped 12 Years A Slave to Oscar glory for an astonishing $17.5 million – a huge number for an indie film made for more than $5 million less than that. Expect to hear a lot about this one in the coming months.
Equity
Financial movies are all the rage at the moment, with Adam McKay’s The Big Short a frontrunner in awards season, and now this new Wall Street drama. Breaking Bad’s Anna Gunn plays an investment banker in a massively male-dominated industry. Sony Pictures Classics has picked up Equity for distribution. Reviews did not make clear whether the drama used Margot Robbie in a bathtub to explain the complicated financial terms and phrases.
Manchester-By-The-Sea
Kenneth Lonergan, who directed 2011’s critical darling Margaret returns with perennial Sundance favourite Casey Affleck for this sombre drama; after a huge bidding war, Amazon Prime nabbed it $10million. It boasts the producing starpower of Matt Damon, who almost appeared in the drama himself, but was apparently too busy being rescued from various planets.
The Sundance Film Festival runs from January 21-31.